Hun wins ice hockey MCT

Trentonian photo/ GREGG SLABODA
Danny Seelagy and the Hun School won the Mercer County Tournament with a 4-2 win Friday against Notre Dame. Four Red Raiders scored.

WEST WINDSOR — Jon Bendorf wasn’t that impressed with his play in the first two periods of the Mercer County Tournament Championship.

Well, the Hun freshman took care of that in the first 12 seconds of the third period.

Bendorf scored off the period-opening face-off and the goal was the catalyst as Hun captured the 2014 Mercer County Tournament with a 4-2 win over a persistent Notre Dame team on Friday night before a standing room only crowd at Mercer County Park.

The No. 2 seeded Raiders (17-7-1) were making their first tournament appearance since 2009 and the title is their first since 2004.

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The top-seeded Irish (18-7) were in the title game for the fourth straight season and were looking for their third straight championship.

“Right from day one we have been working hard to get better every day and now to win this means the most,” said freshman Evan Barratt, who was named the tourney Most Valuable Player. “My brother went to Hun when they won it in 1998 and to win it just like him is unbelievable.”

There were a couple unbelievable goals for the Raiders as Blake Brown, another freshman, gave them a 1-0 lead just eight seconds into the game and then Bendorf’s just 12 seconds into the final period.

Brown and Barratt got Hun to a 2-0 first period lead. Dakota Skove and Jess Manyoky tied it for Notre Dame in the second and then Bendorf and Wurster finished it off to the Raiders in the third.

Barratt finished with a goal and three assists, Bendorf and Brown each had a goal and an assist, Tanner Preston had a pair of assists, Chris Rossi had one assist and Wurster had the final goal of the game.

Brandon Tornquist had a pair of assists while Erik Layton and Skove each had one assist for the Irish.

But, it was Bendorf’s tally that swung the momentum back to Hun.

“I wasn’t playing that great in the first two periods,” said Bendorf, who resides in Hamilton. “I wanted to try and make something happen in the third period. Coach (Ian McNally) was telling me it was my time. Blake (Brown) made a great pass and I was able to put it home.”

Notre Dame, which fell behind early 2-0, never quit and scored twice in 29 seconds in the second period to tie the game at 2-2.

“Getting scored on early in the two periods really hurt us,” said ND coach Andrew Ducko. “But we fought hard and made a good run at it and hopefully we can be back here next year. I’m always proud of these kids and you have to congratulate Hun.”

The shots were even at 30-30 with Devin Cheifetz tuning back 28 and ND’s Kyle Young stopping 26.

“It feels good to win and go off on a good note,” said Cheifetz, the Raiders senior captain and Lawrenceville native. “The challenge for me was to get passed the two goals that they put in in a very short span. But, after that my team picked my up and that was the best part. This team is one of a kind.”

It is a team that has been begging McNally for the chance to play in the MCT the last few years and when they finally got their chance they made the most of it.

“This is something that means a lot to this team,” said McNally. “The kids at school can relate to what the Mercer County Tournament and this week at school there has been a buzz about it. This is the one they wanted to win.”

They did and the Raiders ended a 10-year drought since their last and it took Bendorf only 12 seconds to get a very important goal.